Tartarus- A Percy Jackson Fan Fiction Book 1- Hades & Hecate series
by Al.Caesar.Jr
Summary: (Percy Jackson fan fiction) Tartarus is rising, and it's up to Nico di Angelo and the campers from Camp Half-Blood to stop him. Can they do it in time? Or will their beloved world fall into chaos? *Series takes place after "Heroes of Olympus*


**Hades and Hecate: A Fan fiction Series**

 **Book 1: Tartarus**

 **1**

 ** _Meeting Tartarus_**

**Nico**

 **N** ico di Angelo couldn't take it. He burst from the dining hall and rushed to the Hades cabin, leading a herd of angry demigods carrying flaming sticks. Nico had no idea why they were all mad at him, because he had nothing to do with the chasm in the floor of the dining hall. Nico ran straight for the wall- or at least its shadow. He melted into the dark, leaving the raging campers with no trace of him.

" **I AM TARTARUS,** " the figure boomed. Nico heard several more people swear. The god of the death pit summoned the rubble of the hall and forced it into the ground. In its place grew several huge stone creatures, armed with metal-and-rock clubs, ready to kill. "NICO!" a voice screamed. "WE NEED YOU!" That was a surprise. Nico might have been pretty powerful for a camper, but nobody _liked_ fighting with him. Nico jumped from the roof and summoned an army of the dead. Nico waved for the campers to get over to him. Nico, leading the legion of campers, marched behind the skeleton warriors. A single blow from the metal club of a stone monster knocked half the skeletons aside in a heap of bones.

Nico looked down and saw no water. At his sides- no water. Nico was staring into black nothingness. He tried to use his powers, but nothing worked. At last, he saw the ground, but it was withering from his essence. The area around him was blacker than a storm cloud. Nico looked up as a drop of Lethe filled his open eye. Nico yelled and struggled around. The blackness lifted. Nico was in a rift in the earth, presumably caused by him. Several skeletons were creating a water-tight border around the chasm. Nico wasted no time in climbing back up, and soon he was hanging by two fingers to the chasm's edge. He pulled himself up by the bone wall. There was a rapid hissing noise, and the skeletal wall exploded. Water gushed everywhere while skeleton skulls splashed in the water. One head landed in the water by Nico and sent up a spray in his face, but his memory wasn't gone… yet. Water gushed around Nico's torso, and he struggled, kicking in the water like a drowning idiot. Well, that's what he was, Nico assumed. Finally, something hit his foot and flipped him into the water completely.

 **2**

 ** _The Goddess of Magic_**

 **Nico**

 **N** ico swam through the river Lethe in pain. His eyes stung from the water, and he felt like he was drowning with souls swimming all around him. He heard faints cries from the dead, and he swore they were saying _di Angelo, di Angelo._ He pushed his hand above the water and grasped at thin air. Then his near-lifeless form slipped over the chasm, and he sank deeper into the water.

Nico struggled and swam up, but the water pushed him down like he was in a waterfall. Then he heard a voice. It was strong and bold, and enchanting, but it seemed feminine. The water ceased, and Nico climbed up the sides of the chasm, clutching to rocky handholds.

There was a figure floating in the air, but it wasn't Tartarus. It was a woman, dressed in a long robe that wasn't quite _scarlet,_ Nico figured. It was decorated in gold and silver symbols, and had a black frilled border in some places. The figure's face was so pale it looked like a mannequin's face, except for the eyes. The eyes looked _strange,_ from Nico's point of view _._ There was no other word for it. They resembled regular eyes, but they were pure gold, and they shone like the sun reflected off a million mirrors. The eyes looked like a stormy sky, with dull gold wisps spinning and moving in the figure's gold eyes. The contrast wasn't too visible, but it was evident. The pupil, or what Nico supposed was the pupil, was a darkish gold ball in the middle of the impossible seeming eyes. They looked more like gold essences swirling in empty eye sockets than real eyes.

The figure had a raised hand that pointed at the water, which was being held back by an invisible force. About five inches in front of the figure's bone-white hand was a glowing symbol that looked like a cross between a theta and pi. The symbol had no real essence, but it shone red, and a gold essence like the figure's eyes swirled around it. The same essence trailed off from around the symbol and made a wall-like line across the water that seemed to be holding it back.

Nico shook his head and stepped into the shadows of what was now early night, and he slipped into the void.

Nico reappeared behind the still water. The figure lowered their hand, and the water rushed into the chasm. The gold essence from the symbol swirled around the figure and flew straight into the figure's gold eyes. Now Nico _knew_ those couldn't be normal eyes. The figure flew down and landed on the ground, their bun of gold-streaked brown hair bouncing on top of that plastic-looking head. "Hello, demigods," the figure said. "I am Hecate, goddess of magic."

 **3**

 ** _Goodbye, Camp_**

 **Nico**

 **N** ico hated magic. It was always ruining everything for him. But, he couldn't kill Hecate. What a bummer. "So, why are you here?" Nico questioned the goddess, knowing well she was full of tricks.

"Your father, Hades, sent me," Hecate replied. Nico scoffed.

"Why would Hades be commanding you?" Nico inquired, expecting more lies.

"He isn't, Nico di Angelo."

"What- then why did you say-" Hecate cut him off.

"We are working together because we alone of the gods have recognized Tartarus' behavior. He must be stopped." Nico nodded, suspicious of if this was _really_ true. She continued. "You have to imprison him, and I don't know how. But you have to, or you will all die. And you-," she turned to Nico. "You must leave camp _now._ Tartarus is watching you. Good luck."

"Wait, so I'm basically-," the goddess vanished as he spoke, "-dead."

Nico didn't think this would be his last meeting with Hecate. If she was working with his father, the world must have been ending.

The campers turned to Nico expectantly. Nico sighed, and slipped into the night.

It wasn't long before Nico awoke. He was in the Hades cabin, alone. It was lit by torchlight, and the beds looked like coffins with blood red interiors. _Screw the designer of this place,_ Nico thought. Then his mind frame changed. _Nico, leave. You need to leave._ The voice in his head sounded like Hecate. Nico growled, and blew out the torches in the cabin. Nico found a dark corner where nobody would notice anything at all, and slipped into the night.

 **4**

 ** _The Impossible Happens_**

 **Nico**

 **T** he ground felt hard, and not as dewy as the grassy ground at Camp Half-Blood. Nico looked around at the field by him. It was midday, so he was in a different time zone, he knew that. There were tables lined with bowls that Nico couldn't see into. One table had glass pitchers full of punch and other drinks. A banner flying from the top of one of many white party tents said **di Angelo Family Reunion.** _No, Nico_ thought, _That's impossible. How can I be in Italy? I was in_ New York, _dammit._

He walked forward and into one of the tents. Only then was he stopped by a man in a tuxedo. He had black hair and pale skin like Nico, but his hair was trimmed to his forehead and ears. "Who the hell do you think you are?" The man asked. "This is the di Angelo family reunion. We have lost members, but you're not one of them."

"Can I see the list of lost people?"

"Sure," the man said, reading the list. "Jack di Angelo, D.J. Hugo di Angelo, Matthew di Angelo, Carol Bodkins." That last one Nico assumed was a married di Angelo woman. "More are supposedly lost forever, or dead. Jimmy di Angelo, Bianca di Angelo, and her brother, Nico. I think his real name was Nicolai."

"Bianca is dead," Nico told him. He gaped at Nico.

"How do you know?"

"Bianca's my sister," Nico said firmly.

"No way," the man said. Then he turned and whispered to another man "This boy claims to be Nico. Can we tell?"

"Nico had a skull branded into his upper left arm." Nico's eyes widened. He looked at the black skull on his left arm. "Huh," he said, showing it to the men.

"Holy," one man said. Then he turned and screamed "NICO'S ALIVE! HE'S BACK! NICO IS HERE!" The whole family rushed over. "Nico?" they asked. Most of them hugged him. Nico scowled, but they continued. For the first time in forever, Nico smiled.

 **5**

 ** _Crashing the Party_**

 **NICO**

 **T** he celebration ended in a hurry. White plastic tables flipped over and cracked against the grassy terrain. Bowls of punch and chips flew everywhere, soaking partygoers and layering the ground with snacks. The chips cracked under the heels of frantic partygoers as they rushed for safety. A cruel laugh boomed overhead. The white sheets of the tents rippled and there was a frightening chill. The grass and flowers on the ground withered and died, wilting over like candy canes. The wind ripped the sheets off the poles, destroying the makeshift tents. The sheets landed over unsuspecting partygoers. Muffled screams echoed through the sheets and white cloaked hands reached up, prodding at the sheets.

Without the sheets, there was a clear view of the ominous figure in the sky. It was a humanlike figure that seemed to radiate death. The figure was completely black, with dimly glowing white eyes that looked like stars in the night sky. That was the problem Nico had with the situation: the figure looked marvelous, but Nico knew better than to marvel. The figure chuckled and pointed a pitch black finger at Nico's head. _Crap,_ Nico thought. A tongue of black fire leapt from the figure at Nico, like a rampaging dog rearing its head to bite. He dove aside as the fire scorched the dead grass where Nico had been standing. Nico ran, jumping over lopsided tables and the odd bowl of chips or pretzel sticks. _Screw you,_ Nico thought. Like he remembered from his time earlier, the figure read his mind.

"You shouldn't bother to run, son of Hades," the figure's voice boomed. "You can't run from Tartarus. I'll get you, you can be sure of that." Nico ignored the god shooting flames and every other deadly trap Tartarus could at him and sprinted away. He judged that he was fifteen yards from the forest that surrounded the little valley the party had been held at, when something caught him by the ankles and pulled him down.

Nico cursed and turned to see a demon-bat-lady clawing his ankles. He struggled and pounded the ground. It cracked, and a skeletal hand rose, clawing at the surface. Another hand followed, and then arms, and then a decaying skull. The skeleton pulled itself out of the earth and reached into the crack. Its skeletal hand came back out with its bony fingers wrapped around the hilt of a rusty Celestial bronze sword. The skeleton turned and swung at the demon lady. Nico cringed as the demon let out a ghastly wail, the sword raking cleanly across its chest. Dark blood trickled from the wound. The demon clenched its hand and then spread it out, raising its arm over Nico's face. The skeleton swung the sword, and the demon raked its claws across Nico's face.

"Augh," Nico groaned. Panic-stricken, Nico clenched his fist and used all the force he could, channeling it through his muscles. An aura of death spread around him, the grass withering, cracks being forced open in the ground. Nico focused hard, and the earth split under the demon. It wailed and plummeted into the pit. Nico let it fall, and then touched the ruptured earth as the demon fell. The crack sealed, crushing the demon.

"You killed my minion!" Tartarus bellowed. He snapped his fingers, and five more demons appeared in Nico's way. "No matter," he said, "I'll kill you anyway."

Nico struggled to get away. The demons clawed at him. He had already spilled too much blood on the ground. _I have to go,_ he thought. _No,_ he argued with himself, _my family is there, in danger._ The demons closed in on him in a circle that grew tighter and tighter by the second. They clawed at Nico, cutting into his skin. Nico growled. He knew he couldn't take even one more blow. The demon ladies closed in, and all of them slashed at him with their claws, their shadows overlapping and cornering him in a tiny circle of shadows. That was their mistake. Nico ducked the demons' bloody claws and slipped into the shadows.

 **6**

 ** _Going Back_**

 **Nico**

 **N** ico's eyes sprung open to see himself falling through the cloudy sky, a dark claw-fingered hand plummeting next to him. Nico assumed the claw had raked across his face just as he shadow-traveled away. _That's grim,_ Nico thought. His attention shifted to the situation: he was falling. Nico wondered if he could use skeletal animals, not just humans, to his advantage. _It's worth a try,_ he thought. Nico focused and turned in the air, pointing at the ground. He could see a net of bones come up from the earth, but nothing formed together. Nico tried again. More bones rose from the earth. Finally, a mass of bones clumped together. Nico could see the skeletal form of some flying creature. He couldn't tell what it was. It flew up and Nico grasped its neck. The animal reared its head, and Nico realized it was a Pegasus. He wasn't marveling for long. The skeleton exploded in fragments of bone. Nico looked at the wreckage in horror. Then he resigned to the fall after one last try. Nico focused, and bones exploded from the earth, flying upward. They formed some kind of a net around Nico. He grabbed onto two ribs and hung as he sped down. The bones crashed into the ground and the "net" exploded. Nico's legs buckled under him, and he crumpled to the ground in pain.

Nico woke up to see the night sky, black as hell. His limbs were screaming in pain. His hair was covered in blood, and red streaks ran across his face and arms, but the blood had stopped leaking. His aviator jacket was spotted with maroon blood. Nico stripped off the jacket and looked around. There was a sign by the street that said _Long Island, New York._ Nico grumbled. "Crap," he muttered. Of all places he could be, he had to be close to Camp Half-Blood. _It's safe,_ he told himself. The other side of his head argued with him. _After all these years, you_ still _think it's safe there?_ Nico slung the bloodstained jacket over his shoulder and walked down the road.

Nico recognized the terrain as the last place on earth he'd like to be: Camp Half-Blood. _If I pass through fast enough, nobody will see me,_ Nico thought. He didn't know if it was summer, or how long he'd been asleep. He walked through the field. _Nobody will be out; it's the middle of the night._ As if on cue, Nico saw a figure sitting by the beach. The figure turned at the sound of Nico's shoes. Nico cursed and ran.

"Hey!" the figure yelled. "Come back here!"

"Yeah right," Nico snarled. He sprinted through the camp. The figure screamed more and more. Nico jumped on the side of the fountain and leapt. Nico heard the sound of a door opening, and a light blazed on his face.

"Nico di Angelo?" a voice asked. "It's been so long!" Nico ignored the voice and ran. "Nico!" the voice yelled. The fountain splashed and foamed over the side. The water lashed out and soaked Nico. He turned in shock. The figure was wearing an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and his black hair was soaked.

"Percy?" Nico asked. The figure smiled and walked forward. Nico turned to run, but Percy stopped him. "Nico, don't go," he said.

"I have to," Nico answered, "You wouldn't know why." He pulled his arm out of Percy's grip. He started to run, and the ground exploded. The humanoid form of Tartarus rose from the depths. _How does he get out of there?_ Nico asked himself. _He must be using Gaea's power. Or maybe-_ Nico stopped. The voice of Tartarus hissed.

"You will not stop me, DiAngelo. I can continue to come as long as I want." _Why?_ Nico thought. Tartarus read his mind, which was exactly what Nico wanted him to do.

"The entrance to Tartarus will be open forever, and I will forever be able to escape to the mortal world to torment you!" Tartarus laughed, and Nico grinned. The pit itself, Tartarus, had finally said too much. Then Tartarus noticed Nico's smile. His form dropped from the sky and crashed into the ground. The earth split, and the waters of Tartarus crept up onto the surface. All off the rivers that emptied out into Tartarus were spilling out into the camp. Nico cursed, and he ran. "If it's me you want, here," he yelled, and he flung himself at the cracks in the earth.

He sunk down in the waters in pain, every cell in his body screaming. He finally sunk far enough to see the horrible sight that awaited him: there was an ocean of water, some discolored and bubbling, and others pure and refined, flat with the exception of the odd ripple now and then. All of the rivers met at a common point in the center, and the water was rising every second. _How?_ Nico thought _, this should all be in Tartarus, not right below the surface of Earth._ Then it hit him.

Something had to be blocking the flow of water into Tartarus. Nico plunged his head under the water, and then swam to the bottom. It was farther down than he thought. The ground was smooth and definitely stone. There was no opening that he could feel. He felt the ground, but the only thing that he felt was the tug of his lungs. He gasped and took in a mouthful of water.

Nico struggled to the top against, but he finally breached the top. He could hear screaming echoing into the cavern he was in. "Nico!" mingled voices screamed. He heard coughing and screaming. It depressed him more than usual. He dove back under the water. Looking around, he spotted a blocked hole with jagged outside lines. The hole probably shouldn't have been black as night. Nico swam to it and, turning in the water, kicked against it. The blockade held. Nico tried again, but nothing happened. The water tugged at his insides, but he refused to take a breath. Nico kicked the blockade, but it held. He finally gave up, and swam back.

The water was killing him. He ached, and his insides felt like they were filled with acid. Nico gasped, and took one more try. He focused all his power. The water seemed to be blocking it, but Nico tried anyway. He focused all his power, all his emotion, and all his pain, _everything_ into that blockade. It cracked, and a skeletal hand crept up. The skeleton grew through the blockade and, on Nico's command, smashed the blockade. The waters started to flow down the gap, pushing Nico and the skeleton back. The water washed over them, and finally Nico, aching from the hellish waters, went limp. The water washed him toward the hole, and he and the skeleton fell through.

 **7**

 ** _One Last Gasp_**

 **Nico**

 **N** ico's fingers were apparently more aware than his head. He grasped the edge of the hole, and so did the skeleton's bony hands. The waters finally stopped flowing, so Nico began to climb back up. He was wrong. One last wave of bubbling, burning water washed over him, and he toppled into the hole in agony.

Nico stopped in midair, dangling upside down. He looked up at the skeleton, which was holding Nico's ankle with one hand and gripping the hole with the other. Nico turned and grabbed the skeleton's arm. He pulled himself up, and grabbed the hole with one arm. The skeleton pushed Nico up, and its fingers loosened. The skeleton plummeted into the pit, with what Nico thought was a smile on its face. "Thanks!" Nico shouted. He focused his power and sealed the hole. His clothes were soaked in Tartarus water. He took off his damp aviator jacket and yelled at the campers above him. Quickly, he saw Percy peer through the crack. "Help," Nico said. Percy nodded. Nico threw the jacket at Percy, who caught it. Percy, who seemed to understand what Nico meant, held the jacket down through the crack. Nico jumped and grabbed it. Percy lifted the jacket, and Nico caught the edge of the crack just as the aviator jacket's arm ripped off. He pulled himself up and nodded at Percy. "Thanks."

"How have you been? It's been two years, man."

"For you. I've been here while you were in college."

"Just answer the question."

"I'm fine." Nico realized that Tartarus wasn't gone. The god reached out, and a giant barrage of Imperial gold shards flew at Nico. _I'm screwed,_ Nico thought as a sword-point-sharp shard of Imperial gold neared his stomach. Nico flinched, but nothing happened. Instinctively, Nico looked down at the ground to see a figure lying there with several Imperial gold shards impaling them. Her brown hair waved out on the ground, drops of blood lining some fine hairs. Black eyeliner mixed with blood around the figure's eyes, as the irises changed color, morphing from a warm, caramel brown to a blue more pure than the bluest diamond, and then to emerald green eyes that shimmered like the jewels they resembled. The eyeliner and streaks of watery blood ran down her face. She was crying too. Nico saw Piper McLean's face gaze up at him. "I'm sorry, Nico," she said. "Jason said never to-" her voice cracked. "-Never to- to doubt you. I'm glad I could- I could save you," Piper stuttered, blood gushing from the wounds in her torso and arms. A streak of blood ran down Piper's face and formed a puddle on the ground before the Earth soaked it in. Unusually, tears flowed from Nico's eyes. He fell to his knees. "Don't leave me, Piper, you'll be all right." Piper grabbed his arm.

"No, Nico. Trust me." Nico could tell she was dying. But he couldn't bare it. Finally, Piper let out one last gasp, and lay motionless, her bright eyes staring up at the sky. Nico let the tears flow, and they mixed in his cupped hands with Piper's blood. "No," Nico sobbed. He waved his hand. "Go to Elysium, Piper McLean." His tone was squeaky. Piper's body sunk into the Earth. Nico looked at the sun, which had begun to peek over the horizon. "Crap," Nico said. "I should go, nobody should see me."

"Why?" Percy asked. Nico tried to run, but he stopped short when somebody behind him screamed as a door slammed shut. Nico turned. Most of the campers started to come out of their cabins. Soon enough, a crowd had gathered around Nico in awe. Nico heard whispers from the crowd. "It's the di Angelo kid," a scrawny kid from the Hermes cabin whispered. Then Nico heard a familiar voice from behind him. "Nico? Is that you?" It was Chiron. Nico dreaded the attention. The crowd's shadow loomed over him. Nico scanned the crowd and recognized Annabeth and Percy at the side. Will Solace looked at him with a shocked expression. Shadows fully engulfed Nico, and he melted into them.

Nico looked at the confused crowd from the top of the cabin opposite where he had been. He saw Chiron waving at campers to leave the area for breakfast. "That's enough, Nico is gone. Let's go." When the last of the campers went inside, Nico saw Chiron gaze up at him and smile. Nico waved, and then he ducked down on the backside of the roof and blacked out.

Nico woke up on the roof of the Hades cabin. His fingers were smoldering and black, like he'd just been in a fire. _Crap,_ he thought. _I thought I was through with this._ His annoyance filtered through him, blackening the ground below. His fingers stopped smoking. _Thank the gods._ Nico slid towards the bottom of the roof and jumped.

Nico's legs buckled under him, and he fell in the grass, staining his black jeans. Nico crept out from behind the cabin in the shadows. Campers were constantly coming through, and the sun gleamed from directly overhead. _Shoot._ Nico grumbled and ran. He needed to find Percy and Will.

"Percy, Will," Nico hissed at a group of campers that was going to lunch. Two faces peered at him, and he recognized the uncomfortable stare of the sea god's son. Nico beckoned them, and ran. They followed, but, as if in a trance, nobody else seemed to notice. Nico hid behind the Hades cabin, and Will and Percy followed. Nico looked at them with a serious face. "I need to explain this quickly and go," Nico said.

"Explain what?" Will Solace questioned him.

"Don't ask. I'll explain." Will started to open his mouth, but Nico gave him a ticked-off look and he stopped. "Okay," Nico continued. "So, I'm on the run from Tartarus. He attacked my family reunion in Italy, and I shadow-traveled away. It was June 2nd, so what is it now, June 5th?"

Percy gave him a confused look. "It's July 10th. If it was June, we wouldn't be here."

Nico gaped at him. "I was out for a month?"

"You did say you were in Italy. You went hundreds of miles."

"Okay, so back to the point. I have to get out of here, or Tartarus will kill us all. But I'll need help."

"So?" Will asked.

"I'm going to shadow-travel," Nico explained.

"Oh." Will looked satisfied.

"Let's go now," Percy butted in. Nico and Will nodded. "One, Two,…" Nico didn't get to finish before he and his friends were ripped into the black void.

 **8**

 ** _Splitting Up- By Accident_**

 **Percy**

 **T** hey landed in a bar about ten miles away from Camp Half-Blood, from what Percy could figure. The walls were covered in black-and-white photos of New York Mets legends like Darryl Strawberry, some with signatures scribbled on in permanent marker. The bar counter was smooth cedar wood with a reddish tint. Percy marveled at the bar, but then a chilling thought hit him: the bar was empty, but it was noon. _Oh no,_ Percy thought. "Guys," he started. Nobody else was there.

Percy ripped the door off its hinges and flung it aside. The sky was pitch black. Percy turned to face a clock that was hanging over the menu. Its blue-and-orange hands turned in front of a Mets logo. The clock read 11:05. _How long have I been out?_ Percy proceeded to trash the bar, looking frantically for Nico and Will Solace. He turned to see a dark figure by the door. "Nico?" Percy asked. The figure didn't answer. _Definitely_ not _Nico,_ Percy thought. He raised his hand, and the metallic sink behind the bar exploded. Water gushed all around the bar. The figure screamed and threw something at Percy. He couldn't see what it was, but he fell as soon as it hit him. In the corner of his eye he could see the figure bolt out the door. _Probably a robber,_ Percy thought as he struggled to remove what felt like a dagger handle from his ribs. With the last of his strength, Percy gripped the handle of the dagger and pulled. His hand fell beside him, the dagger in his grasp, soaked in scarlet-red blood. Percy felt around the wound with his other hand. His white T-shirt was blood soaked and retained a dark, almost purple stain around the wound. Percy moaned and slipped into a dream.

Percy was standing on top of the Empire State Building, looking down at the city. A pain seared his ribs, and Percy saw an arrow jutting from the wound. He collapsed. _Why?_ he asked a hypnotized-like dream voice. It was not his usual voice, but a raspy, worn-sounding shriek. He looked around to see the dark figure. He couldn't speak, but he could most definitely control his thoughts. _Okay, that's not a regular thief,_ he told himself. The figure disappeared, and Percy's dream changed as if he was in a television program. All of a sudden, he was standing in front of the Poseidon cabin at Camp Half-Blood. Nico was standing opposite him. "Percy," he started.

"What's going on?" Percy asked. He no longer talked through the raspy voice from earlier.

"You're in a dream, but I think you know that by now. Listen- Will and I are at Sam's Tavern, about ten blocks from where you are. Come on, we have to go." Nico said. Percy tried to resist the dream and awake, but he was stuck.

"How do you know where I am?"

"We saw a hooded black figure in a bar, so we assumed- you know," Nico explained.

"Why didn't you-"Before Percy could finish, the dream dissolved like a pixilated cartoon.

Percy left the bar and strolled down the streets of New York City, the streets bustling with cars and taxis bumper-to-fender. Percy was wearing a brown leather jacket over his now dried bloody shirt. He came up to a side street with several restaurants. On the left was a place labeled _Sam's Tavern._ Percy entered.

"Nico, how," Percy couldn't find the words to explain what he wanted to say. "How did you get- get in my dream?"

"Long story," Nico said. Percy figured he was lying, but he neglected to respond. "Let's go," he told Nico. Will came up from a table and nodded.

"We should go," Will replied, "But how do we defeat Tartarus? I mean- he's Tartarus."

"We have to imprison him somewhere," Nico said. His eyebrows furrowed. "But where?"

Percy stared at Nico. "I think I know a place," he said.

"Where?" Nico demanded.

"I'll tell you later," Percy said, "We need to contact an old friend."

 **9**

 ** _A Long Lost Friend_**

 **Nico**

 **T** he name Percy mentioned shook Nico. _It's so obvious,_ he thought, _but it'll be so hard._ Nico's eyes clamped shut as his mind replayed the unlikely scene from before:

 _"We need to contact an old friend."_

 _"Who?" Nico had asked. Percy had walked forward and smiled, and then said "You know who."_

 _Nico tried to remember, but he couldn't: So many of his "friends" were dead. Percy grinned like the devil and said, "Are you ready?"_

 _"Yes," Nico answered._

 _"It's almost impossible to get to."_

 _"This is no time for games, Percy. Spit it out." Nico commanded. He waited for Percy to talk._

 _"Leo," Percy answered._

It still shook Nico. They needed to imprison Tartarus on Ogygia. Nico looked at Percy. "You can send dream messages, right?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, why?" Nico said, but he knew the answer. "Oh."

"Can you do it?"

"I suppose," Nico said. He tried to lock in to a target, but it was hard when he had no idea where that target was, or if that target was alive. It took a lot of waiting, but Nico got it.

 **10**

 ** _Dreams Are Weird_**

 **Leo**

 **L** eo was deep in a dream when he noticed a figure standing in the corner of his dream. It was Nico DiAngelo. "Hey, death man," Leo said. Nico grumbled.

"Shut up, Valdez. _Never_ call me _death man_ ," Nico approached him. "We're going to try to lock Tartarus up in Ogygia."

"Gods, I hope you're stupid plan works. I don't think a god can manipulate the borders though, so Tartarus would be locked away there," Leo explained.

"Meet me in Cedar Springs, New York."

"Why there?" Leo asked.

" _Necropolis,"_ Nico answered, and the dream faded away. Leo awoke and rushed to Calypso.

"What do you mean?" she asked when he talked about his dream.

"They're going to trap Tartarus in Ogygia. Nico warned me," Leo said.

"Nico? The son of Hades?" Calypso asked, probably recalling the stories Leo had mentioned all too often.

"Yes, that's Nico."

"How?"

"Never mind," Leo said.

 **11**

 ** _To The Necropolis_**

 **Leo**

 **"** **D** on't worry about what I'm going to do. This might take a while."

Leo blacked out.

Nico wasn't there. "Nico? Nico, are you here? Please, Nico," Leo said in a dream-voice, almost like in a trance. He wondered how Calypso had reacted to Leo passing out to try to contact Nico. _How do I even see him in dreams?_ Leo wondered. Maybe Nico could manipulate dreams. Leo would find out if they got to him in Cedar Springs.

Leo's dream body walked, or rather seemed to float, around a dark room. It was a pointless dream, from Leo's standards. Leo searched the corners, and then he heard a voice that was not his own. "Leo," it said. The voice was panicking. "Leo, you need to get out of there." In his dream voice, Leo tried to talk, but he couldn't. It took grueling effort to pry his dream-jaws open.

"Nico, how? We can't."

"I'll find a way," Nico sighed.

Leo got curious. "What do you mean?"

"Tell you later."

"Nico, why?"

The voice that responded wasn't Nico's. "Leo, wake up," the voice said. It was Calypso.

Leo's eyes sprung open to darkness. _Shoot,_ Leo thought. Beside him, Calypso was worried, from what he could tell. "What do we do?" she asked.

"We wait. Nico said he would 'find a way.'" Leo curled his fingers into air quotes.

The room they were in froze. Not really, but it felt like it to Leo. He shivered and looked around to see a new figure sitting there, wearing a black T-shirt and a ripped aviator jacket. "Nico, great timing," Leo said. Nico smiled.

"Hold on," he answered, and then he grabbed Leo and Festus. Leo's hand caught Calypso's, and the room vanished. Then the scene changed. It went from the dull room to black nothingness to New York, Leo assumed.

"Shadow travel?" Leo asked. Nico nodded, his fingertips smoking. Nico's wrists faded. "Nico, what's happening?"

Leo recognized Will Solace's voice. "Nico, you're going to die if you keep this up." Leo whirled around to see Will and Percy standing behind him. Nico ripped off the aviator jacket and threw it down.

"Damn it," he said. Leo looked around. They were standing in a graveyard.

 **12**

 ** _Basically, Suicide_**

 **Nico**

"Okay, so here's the plan," Nico began. "I shadow-travel to Ogygia with Tartarus, and bang, he's trapped."

"How do _you_ get out?"

"I should have the energy to shadow-travel one more time." Nico looked around. _Nobody's buying this. I'm not going to make it back, I'll die either way._ Nevertheless, he continued, looking at the barren graveyard. The grass was dead and looked gray in the moonlight. Shadows reflected off chiseled headstones, and moonlight lit the necropolis.

"So, we wait for Tartarus."

Wait they did. The moon was high in the sky, and it was 11:04, at least, according to Leo's wristwatch. Nico flicked a pebble across the graveyard in boredom. He bent down, and a huge chasm opened in the ground.

"Nico, that was you, right?" Percy asked.

"

Out of the rock, the figure of Tartarus arose. Nico stared at Percy, then Will and Leo, and then Calypso. _Goodbye,_ he thought. He twisted his skull ring and flung himself at Tartarus.

Tartarus smacked him back with a boulder-like mass of skulls. Out of the chasm arose the waters of Tartarus. The others backed up, but Nico, his muscles searing in pain, waded through the waters. Tartarus called on his demon-servants, who slashed at Nico. He tried to raise his sword, but the waters numbed his muscles. His arm wouldn't cooperate. The demons slashed at him, but he dodged. One last claw came down afterwards, striking Nico's face. He plunged under the hell-water in pain.

"Nico!" The water muffled his friends' screams. He was floating into the unknown, about to die, when an arm pulled him from the water. It was Leo. Leo gave him a _you're-welcome-for-saving-your-life_ look, but Nico was too exhausted to reply. The demon servants were attacking his friends, and Nico couldn't stop them.

Nico was in a dream faster than he could count to ten, or, at least, he thought it was a dream. His life flashed before his eyes like the demons' claws. Nico was writhing in pain. He opened his eyes to see demon-ladies hacking at him with their claws. Nico unsheathed his sword and beheaded the demon. He rose to his feet. The voice of Tartarus boomed: " **Fool. You cannot stop me, you cannot try."** Nico grinned.

"No. You can't stop me." He raised all the dead from the graveyard, and they closed in on Tartarus. The demons fought off the skeletons, but Nico ran at Tartarus.

"Nico, don't do it!" his friends wailed, but it was too late. Nico tackled the humanoid form of the god, and together they slipped into the shadows.

Nico could feel his grip loosen as he turned to a ghost, but he landed on Ogygia in time. Tartarus struck him with an invisible weapon of pain, and he keeled over, moaning. He was bound by ropes he couldn't see or touch while Tartarus tortured him. He inflicted more pain and split the earth, washing Nico over with the waters of hell. Nico finally gave in. It was too much pain. The god struck him with a sickle that he conjured from the void, raking it down Nico's face and torso. It ripped through his shirt and started to flow with seemingly a river of blood. Nico went limp, and he couldn't remember anything. There was a noise like a timer going off somehow, and Ogygia exploded.

 **13**

 ** _Death in the Graveyard_**

 **Nico**

 **N** ico went flying into the sky, which was full of bits of crystals and rock. He saw Tartarus fall into the ocean, but when he tried to escape, he was blocked. Nico hit the water hard and started to sink. Shadows engulfed him underwater, and he slipped into the void.

It was like walking through a long, dark hallway, except you might not survive, and you didn't move, really. Nico groaned as he journeyed through the shadowy void, screaming in pain. Finally, he reached the other side. He was back. "Nico, you survived!" Leo exclaimed. Nico shook his head, and began to fade away. He slipped through the carefully made bed of dirt that the earth had constructed eons before, and into the underworld. He flew through the gates of Hades.

Sitting in a throne was Nico's father. Hades' complexion was paler than Nico's, and his beady black eyes were set in the middle of his milky-white face like two opals lost in a sea of pearls. He wore a crown made of gold with a little stone carving of a skull in the center of the front. His long robes did _not_ match the realm he guarded. They were made of white linen, with a red diamond-encrusted border. He wore surprisingly casual clothes under the robe. He had grayish-black jeans matching his dark V-neck shirt, the collar up as though Hades hadn't been given the time to fix it, or had been in a hurry earlier that day. His hands rested on the throne's sides, his long, bony fingers gripping the edge where the throne's armrests dropped. "Nico, you're dead?" Hades asked with a sour expression on his pale face. Hades' black eyes were set in the middle of his bone-white face like opals in a shield made of sea foam.

"No, but I will be if I can't fight. Give me my soul _back._ Oh," Nico said, "and did you really tell Hecate to join you?" Nico's faded form ripped away from the underworld as Hades answered "yes", and he settled back in the graveyard.

He was dying.

"Nico di Angelo, can you hear me?" Leo was pressing on Nico's stomach. Nico moaned in agony.

"It's not enough. If I don't turn in- into a ghost, then-" Nico's voice cracked, but he resumed. "I'll just die from this." He pointed at the bloody gash running from his face to his shoulder. He coughed and tried to relax, certain he'd just spoken his last words ever.

"No! No! Nico, wake up! Please, please Nico," Will Solace groaned. Nico looked around. Percy, Will, and Leo all had one thing in common- their faces were streaking with tears that flowed like raindrops down a gutter. Nico made a gruesome face in pain. His arms faded, then his legs. Percy and Will grabbed him and held on, but Nico was fading. Finally their hands passed right through him. He knew he was gone.

 **1** **4**

 ** _An Angel of Death_**

 **Nico**

 **N** ico finally knew why some people saw an angel flying towards them as they were dying. However, the angel flying towards him his friends could see. He had dark wings of blue, black, and purple plumage, and his straight black hair flowed down over his shoulders. His eyes were the color of the brilliant gold Hazel used to pull up from the ground right in front of Nico's eyes. His muscular arms were paper-white. He looked solemn, but definitely not mournful. He had a straight face, and he stared at Nico coldly. "di Angelo," Thanatos, the god of death, said. "You have endured much suffering. I am sorry to see you go," he stopped. Nico's friends stared at the angel of death before them. "So," he continued, "I will let you pass just this once. Your time is not up, son of Hades."

Nico felt the strength restoring in his body, as though he was waking up from torture after a hundred hours of sleep. He was alive. Scarred, yes, but alive. He sat up to thank the death god, but Thanatos was gone. In his place was nothingness, a black void in the dark sky that looked like someone had torn a hole through the fabric of space. Nico got up and looked around the barren graveyard. A cool wind ruffled his hair. His friends were looking at him, waiting. He still had the gash from earlier, but it had stopped bleeding after soaking Nico's shirt a deep maroon hue. "Hey, guys," Nico said. They smiled simultaneously, which sort of freaked Nico out. "Alright," Nico continued, "Where were we?"


End file.
